NRDC's Juanita Constible on Protecting Workers From Extreme Heat

Juanita Constible, senior advocate for environmental health at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the lack of enforceable heat protections for most workers in the United States.

Only seven states have heat standards on the books. A federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposal put forward under the Biden administration remains in limbo with no clear path to finalization. And with temperatures routinely reaching dangerous levels across much of the country, Constible described the current situation as leaving millions of workers exposed to preventable illness and death.

Constible outlined what strong heat standards look like, what unions have accomplished through collective bargaining, the state-by-state campaigns now moving forward and what every worker — union or not — can and should know before spending another day in extreme heat.

• Only seven states currently have enforceable heat protections for workers on the books, and the fate of the federal OSHA heat standard proposed under the Biden administration remains completely unclear under the current administration. Constible described this gap as leaving millions of workers without enforceable protections, with voluntary guidelines proving insufficient in practice — particularly for seasonal and non-union workers whose employers face no binding consequences for ignoring them.
• Unions have been among the most effective drivers of heat safety progress both at the bargaining table and in the legislative arena. The Teamsters successfully negotiated a 2023 UPS contract requiring air conditioning and ventilation in delivery trucks. IBEW, USW, SEIU and the AFL-CIO have also been active in pushing for heat standards. Also, states where unions are intimately involved in developing regulations have a significantly higher success rate in getting enforceable protections enacted.
• Constible identified the core elements of effective heat standards. They include water, rest and shade, supplemented by worker acclimatization protocols for new employees, mandatory training on heat illness recognition and emergency response procedures. She also cited the death of a construction worker whose employer called police rather than 911 because they mistook his heat stroke symptoms for drug use. This serves as a stark example of what happens when emergency procedures are not in place and enforced, she said.

A Safety Crisis That Gets Worse Every Summer

Juanita Constible is the Natural Resources Defense Council's senior advocate for environmental health and, by her own description, the only person at NRDC working daily on worker heat safety. The NRDC is one of the largest nonprofit environmental organizations in the United States, with a mission to protect people and the planet from threats, including a rapidly warming climate. Constible works within the organization's climate adaptation division, concentrating specifically on how heat is becoming more frequent, more extreme and more deadly.

Heat stroke can occur in as little as 15 minutes. Heat-related illnesses are preventable. And yet most workers in the United States have no enforceable legal protection from heat exposure on the job, Constible said.

Where the Standards Stand — and Where They Do Not

Only seven states currently have heat standards on the books. A federal OSHA heat standard was proposed under the Biden administration, shaped in large part by what California, Maryland and Oregon had already developed at the state level. The fate of that federal proposal is, in Constible's words, completely unclear. No one knows if or when it will be finalized under the current administration. That uncertainty leaves millions of workers in states without their own standards exposed to dangerous conditions with no enforceable right to relief.

Voluntary guidelines exist, but they are not sufficient. Without enforcement, voluntary protections tend to get ignored, especially for seasonal workers and non-union employees whose employers face no binding consequence for doing so, Constible said. The answer, she said, is enforceable standards. And since the federal path is blocked, that means fighting state by state right now. The NRDC is currently involved in campaigns in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Mexico, among other states, working with legislators and coalition partners to get something on the books that can protect workers through this summer and every summer after.

What Good Heat Standards Actually Require

The baseline of any effective heat standard is water, rest and shade. Those three elements are common sense, but not always provided. They are also not sufficient on their own, Constible said. Strong heat standards require worker acclimatization protocols, giving new employees time to adjust to heat conditions gradually rather than being thrown into peak exposure immediately. It requires training workers and supervisors how to recognize the signs of heat illness before someone is in crisis. They also require clear emergency procedures that everyone on a job site understands, Constible added.

She described a case of a construction worker whose employer, seeing symptoms of heat stroke, called police rather than 911 because they assumed the worker was on drugs. He was delirious — a symptom of heat stroke, not intoxication. By the time the situation was correctly identified, it was too late. He died. That outcome was preventable at every stage, Constible said. It is also not an isolated case. It is what happens when emergency procedures are not in place, not trained and not enforced.

Unions as a Force for Heat Safety

Constible identified unions as one of the most effective mechanisms for advancing heat protection, both at the bargaining table and in the statehouse. The Teamsters negotiated a landmark 2023 UPS contract that requires air conditioning and ventilation in delivery trucks — turning what Constible described as “easy-bake ovens” into vehicles that actually keep workers safe. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the United Steelworkers, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the AFL-CIO have all been active in pushing legislation requiring heat standards. And states where unions are deeply involved in the regulatory development process, she said, have a measurably higher success rate in getting enforceable protections enacted. She credited unions for bringing both political backing and the credibility of rank-and-file members who can speak directly to what heat exposure looks like.

For workers who do have union contracts, Constible said the presence of heat protections in a collective bargaining agreement is one of the most reliable ways to ensure those protections are actually followed. That is not a universal reality yet, but it is a goal the labor movement is actively working toward.

The Employer Pushback — and Why the Data Tells a Different Story

Industry opposition to heat standards follows a predictable script. Employers claim it is too expensive or that it will kill the business. Claims that crops won’t get picked or buildings won’t get built if workers get rest breaks are also common. Constible said she hears all of it regularly, delivered through high-paid industry lawyers at regulatory proceedings rather than directly from the companies themselves. Her response focuses on the data and the stories workers tell, which say otherwise. Until every worker gets home safe, the argument that employers are already doing enough is contradicted by the heat-related illnesses and deaths that continue to occur every summer.

What Workers Can Do Right Now

Constible closed with a direct message to workers in hot environments who may not have a union, may not have a heat standard covering their workplace and may be afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation — a fear she said is particularly acute for undocumented workers and those in mixed-status households.

Know the signs of heat illness. Know them well enough to recognize them in a colleague. If someone appears to be in distress, do not wait for a supervisor's permission to call 911. Heat stroke can kill in minutes. Fast action is the difference. And to whatever extent a worker feels safe doing so, get involved. Share stories about what is happening on the job site, engage with the state-level campaigns underway and help demonstrate that enforceable heat standards are not just necessary but feasible.

More information is available at nrdc.org. Workers and advocates seeking heat-specific resources should also visit protectworkersfromheat.org.

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